Drinking to Pass the Time
by Helatreia
Summary: A sort of followup to the 5th Marik's Evil Council. Thiefshipping one-shot, Abridged-verse.


**Sorry if it's OOC, this is literally the first fanfic I've ever written.**

**I told myself I'd never write fanfiction.**  
**I told myself I'd never ship a Yaoi pairing.**  
**I told myself I'd never write anything remotely angsty.**

**So much for that.**

Marik was sitting at the bar alone. He sat in his favorite corner, dark and isolated. It wasn't the first time and there was no reason to believe it would be the last. Drinking made it easier to get his mind off things he didn't want to face, like how his Evil Council had been falling apart ever since Bakura left, and how he was no closer to defeating Yugi Moto than ever. Reality was much harder to swallow than alcohol.

He glanced around; there were plenty of people there despite the fairy decrepit condition of the place. The dim lighting hid some of the cracks in the walls, but the outdated furnishings and the occasional bugs were harder to ignore. It was really the only bar in the vicinity, though, so the declining condition of the building did little to affect the amount of customers. Besides, the drinks were good.

Marik looked back to the bartender. Kaoru had been running his mouth for quite sometime, but that was also normal. It was rumored that any information passed to Kaoru would be circulated throughout the entire town before sundown, and it wasn't much of an exaggeration. Still, Marik liked talking to him, and Kaoru always listened intently regardless of his intentions. It wasn't like there was anyone else for Marik to talk to anymore. He took another swig of his drink, but was startled out of his internal reflection by the sound of a familiar word, or rather, name.

"…Midknight, but I haven't seen him lately." Kaoru lapsed into a rare silence.

"What was that?"

"Eh? Oh, I was just saying that there's a guy who's become a regular, just like you, but I haven't seen him recently. He goes only by the name Midknight, but spells it with a K. You know, Mid-K-night. He's quite popular with both the women and men, but he's only interested in the guys. He has been know to take the girls home too, though. He thinks it's funny when they find out he's not interested. Come to think of it, you'd be just his type. Thin, tan, effeminate…"

Marik's face lightened a few shades. "Wh… what does he look like?" "Interested?" Kaoru laughed. "He's got real white hair, brown eyes, and looks like he's never seen the sun. Positively vampiric smile."

"Wait… you don't know his name? Aren't you supposed to ID people when you sell alcohol?" Marik realized he'd never had his ID checked. A good thing too, because he was definitely underage. So was Bakura's host for that matter. "Supposed to? Yes. Do I? Pretty much never. Have you even seen this place? It's not like we follow any other codes or laws." Kauro laughed again. "Just imagine the trouble we'd be in if the health inspector checked this place out. Thankfully, he's a regular here too and so this place will never close. Someday it's liable to just collapse on top of us, but until then…" He motioned at Marik to wait while he served another customer and exchanged a bit of gossip.

Marik stared at his drink. Bakura, a regular here? His mouth felt dry and he downed the last of his drink. He could feel the alcohol starting to take affect, but one drink wasn't nearly enough to muddle his thoughts. If only Bakura would come back to the Evil Council, maybe Marik could get it back in order and they could take on Yugi for real, and…

Kaoru was back in front of Marik again, leaning over the bar towards him. "Speak of the devil! He's here," Kauro whispered hoarsely.

It was indeed Bakura. He slid onto one of the barstools on the other end of the bar and proceeded to look very bored as Kaoru hurried over to see what he was in the mood for. He had the same cold, hard eyes as always, but the customary sadistic smile was missing from his face. Bakura glanced around the room, eyes darting here and there. He was sitting just seats away from Marik, and it was only a matter of time he noticed the blond staring at him with wide eyes. There was a moment of silence as their eyes met that seemed to last for an eternity. Just as Marik thought the moment couldn't get any more awkward, the silence was broken by Kauro. "Hey Midknight, long time no see! I was just telling Marik here about you. He seemed pretty interested, if you know what I mean," he added with a wink.

Scratch that, the silence just became much more awkward.

Bakura was the first to speak, "It's been a while, Marik. And just so you know, I'm not coming back to the Council, so don't even ask. I left Dartz too, so I'm alone now and that's the way I like it."

_Funny_, Marik thought. _We're both all alone. He likes it and I don't._

Marik cleared his throat, "Uh… Kauro was telling me how you come here pretty often to drink and, uh, pick up guys."

"How I pass my time is none of your business. And unlike you, I am gay, so what's it matter?" Bakura snapped.

It was as if Kaoru just couldn't wait to ruin the conversation. He was incapable of not talking for more than a few minutes like how normal people couldn't go without air. "Wait, not gay? Marik, weren't you telling me just a week or so ago how you were lovesick over some guy? I mean…"

"_Kaoru_!" Marik yelped, blushing visibly.

Bakura's eyes sparked with an indiscernible emotion. "That doesn't sound like you, Marik. What happened to, 'I'll have you know that I like women'?"

"I… well, um… you see…. ah…." Marik stammered. He twirled the ice cubes in his drink, refusing to meet those eyes that felt like they were boring into his very mind. He'd had dreams, nightmares, about those eyes. The same ones Bakura wore when he left, cold eyes, mocking him. Marik could feel the red on his cheeks, the cold ice on his fingertips, the two pairs of eyes intently watching him, waiting for an answer.

There was so much Marik wanted to say. _It's you, Bakura. I need you. I was serious when I said I wasn't into guys, but you're different somehow. I think I love you. _But the words simply wouldn't come out.

Bakura sighed softly before saying, "Marik… The real reason I left your Evil Council was because I could stand being around you. Not with you always so hopelessly naïve and completely oblivious to the feelings of others. Because I like you and I knew, _thought_, that there was no chance of you ever feeling the same way. I figured that if I stayed someday I would simply snap, and I didn't want to hurt you. So I left."

The realization of what Bakura had just said took a while to sink in. "What?!"

"You heard me." Bakura threw a few bills on the bar and stood to leave.

"Wait! Bakura, I… Where have you been staying?" "Some motel. Why do you care?" He crossed his arms impatiently.

"Well, you see, I bought this new apartment, and it's really big, way to big for just one person, and it seems kinda empty, and I guess I thought… Maybe you'd like to…" Marik blurted.

Bakura's face finally broke into that familiar smile. He spun towards the door and it opened with a creak, letting the cool night air in. Just as Marik began to wonder if Bakura was leaving again, maybe for good this time, he turned around to face Marik once again.

"You coming?"

**I suck at endings. Review, please? I'd love any sort of feedback.**


End file.
